Saturday, 10:13 a.m. - The Honeymoon Grand Prix

Yesterday, at the Grand Prix Trials, one couldn't help but notice a woman in full wedding dress. Grand Prix tend to draw quite a diverse crowd, but still this was an unusual sight to say the least.

Fresh off the altar and onto a game of Magic

Turns out, yesterday was actually the wedding of Maria and her husband Vasily, which obviously left more questions to be answered. Did they plan their wedding specifically to coincide with the GP? "Well, not originally," Maria said. "But when we heard there would be a Grand Prix in Moscow, and we'd be getting married around the same time, we thought that was a cool coincidence '—Fate maybe?—' and we went for it."

And it even does have practical advantages: "We have a lot of friends who play Magic, scattered all over the country. And they're all here this weekend for the Grand Prix anyway, so we didn't have to send out extra invitations," Maria explained, then smiled and added, "I got so many congratulations."

Newlyweds Maria and Vasily

About their Friday so far: "We had a civil wedding this morning, which was rather a boring affair, as civil weddings tend to be, and afterwards we came here directly to play in some Grand Prix Trials, which is a lot more fun," said Maria who had just won the first two rounds of a GPT. "Later this evening we'll go out with friends and celebrate some more."

"We won't have the traditional honeymoon trip directly. I live in France and my husband is going to move to France with me, so we still have to take care of a lot of stuff, signing documents and so on. But we have this GP which is simply awesome!" Talking about traditions, the throwing of the wedding bouquet had also been altered slightly for this occasion. Who caught the flowers would not be next in line for marriage, but was obviously destined to win the Grand Prix.

Tossing the wedding bouquet

"It's amazing to have a wedding day full of Magic," said Maria, beaming. Normally, one's wedding day is supposed to be magic, but not exactly this kind of magic ... Maria would have none of that though: "I've simply decided to give new meaning to the word."

Congratulations to Maria and Vasily, and good luck in the Grand Prix!

Saturday, 11:14 a.m. - Speak русский?

by Tobi Henke

Most Grand Prix, at least all in the US and in Western/Central Europe, exclusively use English cards. In Asia that's different, and in Russia it apparently is as well. Here, players were given the choice to either play with English or Russian cards for today's Sealed Deck rounds (tomorrow's drafts however will be English-only).

And Russian cards proved to be extremely popular. Only 243 players opted for English, compared to 627 who chose Russian. It's not only Russian players either. For most people who came here from Europe, Russian cards still are a rarity, with the more sought-after cards being coveted collector's items at home.

When I asked outsiders for their reasons to "go native", the most common response was: "Russian cards are pretty."

And they are, aren't they. Much like Asian cards, the unusual symbols have a certain exotic appeal to everyone who grew up with the simple Latin alphabet. The fact that one cannot read any of it only makes them more interesting.

Others mentioned the fact that they already knew all of the cards by heart and could tell them apart by artwork, casting cost, and power/toughness, whereas having cards in the local language might make it easier to communicate with some of the less experienced Russian opponents they'd be facing. Language barrier always can be an issue at the big international tournaments, but mostly players can get by with pointing and gesturing. All the better if one can point at a card the other player actually is able to read.

Of course everyone here will have to deal with Russian cards sooner or later. Thankfully nowadays smart phones help with that: Take a picture of a Russian card and Google Goggles will immediately come up with a link to the English version. Sweet.

Saturday, 12:03 p.m. - Spotlight on Russian Players

by Frank Karsten

As the previous Grand Prix in Russia was 11 years ago, we don't get to see the Russian players very often. That is a pity, as the country is harboring lots of excellent players. We selected five top Russian players in attendance today that you may want to keep an eye out for, and asked them about their Sealed decks. (Many thanks go out Valeriy Shunkov, who was kind enough to provide a detailed overview of the big names in the Russian Magic community.)

Nicolay Potovin:

Considered by many to be the best Russian player of all time. He won Grand Prix Stockholm 2007 and has accumulated 79 pro points over the course of his Magic career. He currently lives in Belarus and even represented Belarus in this year's World Magic Cup. Nevertheless, he is still an icon of the Russian Magic community, so he is certainly a player to watch.

Today, he registered a pool with 2 Door to Nothingness, but had to pass it. He was satisfied with the pool he got to play with. It contained good green cards and a couple of bombs, although he had to fill out his deck with mediocre creatures. Nevertheless, Potovin felt that he would be able to make Day 2 with his deck.

Alexander Privalov:

He was the 2008 National Champion, was a member of this year's World Magic Cup Team, and has been touted as one of the most talented players and deckbuilders in Russia. Alex had about twelve PTQ Top-8's during the last two years, but never won one. He's hoping to break the curse here at the Grand Prix.

Privalov received a Sealed pool with two Door to Nothingness -- in fact, the one opened by Potovin. Although it may have been hard to resist the temptation to build a crazy deck, he instead opted for a Green-Red deck with plenty of solid cards. "I think I can make Day 2 with this deck," Privalov said.

Andrey Kochurov:

He was the 2009 National Champion and has 29 lifetime pro points. As Kuchurov and Privalov are the only two consistently playing National champions, there's a healthy rivalry between the two of them. Kochurov leads Team Sputnik, a team of young, accomplished Russian players that have been streaming Magic Online drafts with Russian commentary to prepare their country for the M13 Limited format that is played today.

Kochurov didn't receive many bombs today, so he built a very aggressive Black-Red deck, opting to close out the game as quickly as possible. "There are better pools, but this might work," Kochurov mentioned.

Egor Khodasevich:

He is the reigning National champion in Russia, is a member of Team Sputnik, and he finished 18th at Pro Tour Philadelphia last year. He gathered 14 pro points last year, so he's definitely on top of his game.

Today, Khodasevich built a Green-Black deck with a splash for red removal spells. His deck features a lot of black creatures and two Ring of Xathrid. His alternative game plan is grinding out his opponent with Roaring Primadox and Ravenous Rats. Overall, his deck looked quite decent.

Rustam Bakirov:

He is one of the better "old school" players: Bakirov made the Top 8 of GP Moscow 2001 and became the first Russian to win a major event when he won Grand Prix Leipzig 2005.

Bakirov explained that the deck he is playing today has potential as it contains a couple of bombs. He doesn't have any byes today, but his experience may still carry him. At least he is dressed like a champion!

Saturday, 12:13 p.m. - Sealed Deck Building Exercise: The Pool

by Frank Karsten

Were you unable to make it to Moscow this weekend, but you still want to test out your Sealed Deck skills just like the players at the Grand Prix? Then put yourself in the shoes of an unnamed (male) pro player, and check out the pool of cards that he was presented with today. We won't tell you his name until the end of the day, so as to not harm his chances in the competition today.

So, build your deck and share it on the forums to see how your Sealed Deck skills stack up against one of the game's best. Later today, we'll put up the mystery pro's build and his explanation for card/color choices, and at the end of the day we'll reveal his name and final record.

Saturday, 1:11 p.m. - What Guild Are You, Raphaël Lévy?

by Tobi Henke

Unless you've spent the last couple of weeks with your head buried in the sand under a rock on the far side of the moon you've probably heard about the upcoming Return to Ravnica, this year's fall set which hits the stores October 5. All of the goodies from the original Ravnica: City of Guilds will make a comeback as well as all of the original ten guilds, the two-color-aligned organizations which dominate the plane of Ravnica. At the prereleases (September 29–30) you will be able to choose your guild. So what guild are you?

Luckily, you don't have to guess. Wizards devised a fun personality test, which will tell you the answer. Take the quiz here!

I sat down with multiple GP champion, multiple PT Top 8er, and Hall of Famer Raphaël Lévy as he answered ten questions to find out what guild he belonged to.

Levy

Question #1: What's the best way to resolve a dispute?

Drive a spike through the forehead of whoever disagrees with you.

Disputes tend to work themselves out as long as everyone is open and honest. Live and let live.

Whoever wants it more is probably correct.

Engage in a reasoned debate where each side gets to exhaustively present all the details of their argument.

Seek harmony among all parties, so that all can join together as one.

"Definitely not the first one!" Lévy said, clearly shocked. "I think it's number four for me."

Question #2: What's the most powerful force in the city?

Conflict. The guilds will forever clash—meaning you have to believe in your own creed the most passionately of all.

Nature. It's not just pretty trees and flowers along the curbs—it's the force that can come trampling over all that opposes it.

Gossip. It's not what you know—it's what you know about who you know.

Ambition. Everyone has strange whims and dark urges, but history is made by those who turn them into reality.

Money. It creates the tiers of society that define who's who in the city.

Here Lévy's competitive nature came through, as he chose ambition.

Question #3: Some believe that nothing is more important than pursuing knowledge, whatever the risks. What's your take?

Knowledge is indeed valuable, but only insofar as it benefits the harmony of society.

That sounds about right. Risks are just problems we haven't figured out yet. Let's get out there and find out what's possible!

You should be wary of those who call themselves bearers of truth—they're usually out to manipulate, deceive, or rule you.

Knowing all the answers only makes you miserable. Live a little. It's the ability to feel that makes us who we are.

Every secret is precious, yes. But the ultimate prize is the ability to use those secrets to control your own destiny.

He chuckled at the answers given and after a little deliberation picked number five.

Question #4: What are the trappings of a truly excellent guild?

A laboratory filled with brilliant researchers and unhatched bio-pods.

It's probably a hideout for criminals, law-evaders, and other such low-lifes.

It must be awful down there, cut off from all growth and life-giving sunlight.

He went with the "hideout for criminals, law-evaders, and other such low-lifes."

With that taken care of it was time for the big reveal. Raphaël Lévy, you are ... Orzhov!

"Interesting," he commented. While most people seem to end up in one of the blue guilds—Izzet seems to be the current favorite—Lévy knew he wasn't blue. "I expected to be white, but I'd put myself in Selesnya originally. Now I'll have to change my guild affiliation." He quickly went over to the Planeswalker Points page, renounced his Selesnyan faith, and joined the Orzhov Syndicate instead. And whatever your guild, you should join too!

Saturday, 1:34 p.m. - A Tour Around Moscow

by Frank Karsten

One of the great things about Magic is the opportunity it has given me to travel as both a player and reporter. I was able to see some great places that I wouldn't have gone to without a little help from the Magic Grand Prix schedule.

This was my first visit to Russia, and I wasn't sure what to expect from Moscow. Looking at the stereotypes portrayed in some movies and news stories, I was wondering whether I would be in for a dangerous place. Would the streets be littered with depressed people chugging bottles of vodka? Would I be overwhelmed with bears playing musical instruments?

None of all that, as it turned out. Moscow is just a modern metropolis with normal people living there. While I've only seen the richer areas of Moscow and there may still be economic and political problems in Russia, the city of Moscow made a very good impression on me. The Russian people that I got to know are friendly, and all the monuments in the city convincingly showcased Moscow's history and power.

St. Basil's Cathedral.

I visited the city's main attractions yesterday, together with fellow Dutch players Roel van Heeswijk, Menno Dolstra, and Jasper Blaas -- who had effectively come out of their Magic retirement for this Grand Prix. I was surprised to see that the Red Square is actually quite small, although it did offer amazing sights such as St. Basil's Cathedral. The Kremlin, on the other hand, was much bigger than I had imagined. The subway system was very effective with beautiful stations. And the Grand Prix site is located in an amazing exhibition center that is filled with monuments from the communist era.

The only real difficulty was language-related. It is hard to find anyone who speaks English in Moscow. The Magic players at the Grand Prix here are a bit more comfortable with English, but I've had no luck with the older people on the streets. And not only did I have to cope with a new language but also with a new alphabet. Russia uses the Cyrillic script rather than the Latin alphabet. This makes it very difficult to read the metro signs, restaurant menus, etcetera. Of course, with great challenge comes great payoff once the script is deciphered to reveal that restaurant does indeed offer pizza.

The metro stop for the Grand Prix site. Its English name is the unpronounceable VDNHK, but it’s almost impossible to make that out from the Russian name.

While seeing the sights yesterday, I also made a short video of Moscow's highlights. This is the first time I've tried this, so don't expect great production values, but I do hope that that it can give you a good impression of the city in 2-3 minutes. Enjoy!

So the next time there's a Grand Prix nearby, make sure to find a way to get there! Not only will you be able to meet old and new friends and play some great Magic, but you also get to visit some of the world's beautiful cities.

Round 4 Feature Match - Raphaël Lévy vs. Peter Nazatityan

by Tobi Henke

This was the first round of actual play for Hall of Famer Raphaël Lévy. Before he sat down in the feature match area I got a chance to take a look at his deck, a veritable monster in green and red. Sitting on the other side of the table, his Russian opponent, Peter Nazatityan, had brought a black-and-white Exalted deck.

I sat down with our mystery pro – who shall remain nameless for the time being as the other competitors in the hall have internet access as well – to get his thoughts on this sealed deck.

The first thing that our mystery pro did after sorting out his unplayable cards was to set aside Staff of Nin and 2 Primal Clay. "Okay, just 20 more cards to go", he said. Next, he quickly discarded the green and the black. "Green only has about 6 playable cards, and not a single good card. Black's highlights are Essence Drain and Bloodhunter Bat, but then I have just a lot of mediocre cards. There's nothing really drawing me to black; the other colors are just more interesting," he explained.

He pondered the red cards for a bit. "Red has a couple of good cards in Searing Spear and Arms Dealer. It also provides a nice combo in Slumbering Dragon plus Ring of Valkas. The color is also quite deep, containing a bunch of reasonable cards such as Krenko's Command, Furnace Whelp, and Goblin Arsonist. But, overall, red just provides a bunch of 1/1s. It's a lot of mediocre cards thrown together, and that's not going to work in Sealed where everyone is playing good cards. Furthermore, the blue-red deck has a bad mana curve."

Pairing the blue with the white offered a better curve, so the first deck that our mystery pro put together was White-Blue. "White has a bunch of OK cards and a couple of really good cards," he said, pointing at Planar Cleansing in particular. "I expect that Planar Cleansing can catch some of the less experienced Russian players off guard. " The white also offered more synergy and an actual game plan: Guardians of Akrasa can help hold the fort while the flyers attack for the win, and don't forget the combo of Tricks of the Trade plus Ajani's Sunstriker.

When asked about potential splashes, he said that it would be too hard on the mana. This made sense, as he already had several double-white cards and several double-blue cards.

Overall, his deck looked decent, but not super exciting. "Basically, my plan is to stay alive until I hit 6-7 mana and can cast any of my three rare bombs: Staff of Nin, Planar Cleansing, or Sphinx of Uthuun," our mystery pro concluded. "I just hope I'm making Day 2 with this deck."

At the end of day 1, we'll reveal his name and his record.

Saturday, 4:31 p.m. - Card Interactions, M13 Edition

by Tobi Henke

Former US national champion and recent GP champion Antonino DeRosa is always one for fun stories: "You know how I just won? My opponent's deck was sooo good, I simply had to deal 20 damage with Stuffy Doll!" How did that work? "Arms Dealer. But I really had to draw all three of my Goblin cards, including Krenko's Command."

Now that seems rather good too.

One of the wackiest cards in M13 surely is Spelltwine. One of the potentially coolest interactions with it, however, unfortunately doesn't work. When you target Reverberate (and another instant or sorcery) with Spelltwine and then target the Spelltwine with the copy of Reverberate, the result is not another Spelltwine. The Reverberate copy is created during the resolution of Spelltwine, but it won't resolve until Spelltwine has left the stack, becoming an illegal target for Reverberate, which will then be countered upon resolution.

Meanwhile, Frank van Rijn, a Dutch player who has some previous Pro Tour experience, also had a fun story to tell. With his opponent at 4 life and without flying blockers, Rijn attacked with Arctic Aven and two tokens from Talrand's Invocation.

His opponent aimed Public Execution at the Aven, Dolstra responded with Divine Verdict, killing the Aven—and his opponent, as the tokens were no longer going to be subjected to the −2/− 0—nearly literally killing to birds with one stone.

"Throw enough goblins at any problem and it should go away. At the very least, there'll be fewer goblins." These famous words of wisdom come courtesy of Goblin Piledriver, but they still ring true today. Today, more than one player faced an opening of Krenko's Command and another Goblin (of the Arsonist or Rummaging kind mostly) followed by Krenko, Mob Boss. That's four Goblins, soon to be eight, soon to be sixteen ... Krenko had already proven itself to be one of the most dangerous cards in M13 Limited when it appeared in both the champion's and the finalist's deck at Grand Prix Shanghai, and it finished quite a lot of games here as well.

Saturday, 5:00 p.m. - The Russian Magic Community Is Brimming With Excitement

by Frank Karsten

Grand Prix tournaments are world-wide open events that allow all Magic players to participate and experience the thrill of a large-scale competition. But the Grand Prix schedule visits some places more often than others. There has not been a Grand Prix in Moscow for the last 11 years. So the Russian Magic community was very excited to discover that another Russian Grand Prix was planned this year.

Many Russian players hoped that lots of players from all parts of the world would join for an unforgettable event, and several volunteers set out to spread the word. You may remember seeing Russian players sporting some rather fancy T-shirts at the European Grand Prix circuit to show just how pumped about the event they were. Maria Zuyeva, a Magic judge currently living in Moscow, had also co-written a very useful guide with travel tips, a Russian vocabulary, and maps that helped me get around the city. Indeed, everyone seemed to be doing all they can to make this event as good as possible.

I caught up with Maria to thank her for the travel guide and asked her how she felt when the Grand Prix in Moscow was announced. "I was overwhelmed," Maria said. I used to fly to European cities as a judge, but a Grand Prix in Moscow was really unexpected. It's an amazing opportunity for both local and foreign players. The local store, Edinorog, supported it by setting up a Facebook group and by designing the Grand Prix Moscow T-shirts. A lot of players purchased such a T-shirt to show that the community really supports this event."

A group of Russian players sporting the T-shirts at Grand Prix Madrid earlier this year.

Maria's expectations for the Grand Prix had been surpassed. "There are more players than I was hoping for," she explained. "We expected around 600 players, but I'm very happy to see that several hundred more have decided to come." She also looked towards the future: "I dream about having a Grand Prix in Kiev, my home town." (Kiev is the capitol of Ukraine , but it's still very close to Russia, and the Ukrainian Magic community also has a lot of good players, as evidenced by Ukraine's 16th place finish at the World Magic Cup this year.)

I also caught up with Valeriy Shunkov, a research engineer and 146% surely an Izzet guild member. He knows the Russian Magic community very well and frequently writes about the Russian players in his Starcitygames column.

"We have wanted this event for many years," Valeriy said. "We understand the visa problems and logistics problems, but the Russian Magic community has grown in the last couple of years and is very friendly to new players. So, we are very excited to see this event become reality. It is also a great replacement for Nationals, as many friends from different cities that I see only once per year are all here."

In fact, many Russian players have come to a big Magic tournament for the first time in their lives in order to experience the thrill of such an event. "I had a phone call today from a friend who is a casual Magic player," Valeriy mentioned. "He never plays tournaments, but he still asked me to register him for the Grand Prix today."

Valeriy Shunkov (4th from left) and his fellow members of teamsputnik are pumped about having a Grand Prix in Moscow.

Many players had also traveled from far away to attend this Grand Prix. Valeriy gave a good example: "I just played against a player who had traveled all the way from Kamchatka!"

Valeriy was also impressed with the monumental event hall. "It's amazing. We usually play in smaller, darker rooms, so this place is a big step up for the Russian Magic community. I hope this amazing site can help foster its future growth."

Speaking of growth, Valeriy expressed the hope to see more Russian players on the Pro Tour and for the Russian Magic scene to incorporate into global Magic. "In previous years, we've often had 10-15 Russian players at European Grand Prixs and 3-4 at Pro Tours. The whole community really supports them, with news forum threads going to 50 or 100 pages for just one tournament," he explained. "But it would be nice for those numbers to grow. I really hope that if this Grand Prix is successful, we can get another one," he concluded. "Maybe not in Moscow, but perhaps in Sint-Petersburg?"

All in all, this Grand Prix already was a great event before Round 1 even started, and I think I can safely conclude that the Russian Magic community is very happy to take be able to take a shot at Grand Prix glory in their home country.

Saturday, 6:13 p.m. - Country Meta Breakdown

by Event Coverage Staff

Russian Federation

681

Ukraine

40

Belarus

26

Germany

20

Spain

12

Italy

12

Netherlands

9

France

8

Finland

7

Sweden

6

Estonia

5

Switzerland

4

Norway

4

Latvia

4

Denmark

4

United States

3

Czech Republic

3

Kazakhstan

2

Japan

2

Ireland

2

Austria

2

Turkey

1

Poland

1

Lithuania

1

Israel

1

Cyprus

1

China

1

Chile

1

Brazil

1

Belgium

1

Total players

865

Round 6 Feature Match - Nicolai Potovin vs. Alex Ivlev

by Frank Karsten

This all-Russian feature match threw together two players at 4-1: the experienced Nicolai Potivin, touted by many to be the best Russian player of all time, and the underdog Alex Ivlev, playing in his first Grand Prix. Potovin brought a Red-Green deck, while Ivlev came with a White-Black deck.

Game 1

Potovin had the first play in Torch Fiend, but it quickly bit the dust due to a Crippling Blight from Ivlev. Potovin then lacked any new creatures, while he was stuck with Rancor and Titanic Growth in his hand. These are great creature enhancers, but they are useless when there are no creatures to be seen.

Potovin spent some time doing the math and eventually decided to pass the turn, as attacking into the huge, lifelinking Vampire Nighthawk would not allow him to put his opponent any lower. After all, attacking his 3/3 Mogg Flunkies into the 5/4 lifelinking Vampire Nighthawk would not make any sense, and the Deadly Recluse preferred to stay on defense.

When Ivlev played Sign in Blood and went down to 4 life, Privalov looked at the Chandra's Fury still lurking in his hand. He prayed for a land and his deck rewarded him. He immediately cast Chandra's Fury for the win.

Potovin's pair of 3/3s could not deal with Ivlev's unblockable creatures. A few short swings later, Potovin extended his hand in defeat.

Alex Ivlev 2 - Nicolai Potovin 1

Saturday, 7:17 p.m. - Decisions, Decisions: Mulligan or Keep?

by Frank Karsten

In today's Round 6 Feature Match, Nicolai Potovin had just lost game 1 to an aggressive Black-White deck, after which he was immediately faced with a difficult mulligan decision. On the draw, he looked at the following 6 cards: 3 Forest, Acidic Slime, Spiked Baloth, and Mogg Flunkies.

This opening hand had several good cards and a decent mix of spells and land, but it was a bit slow and did not contain any red mana yet. Potovin certainly spent some time on this decision.

What would you do in his situation: mulligan or keep?

In the end, Potovin chose to take a mulligan. After the match, I asked him about his decision. He explained that it was already like a 5-card hand, because he lacked the red mana to play Mogg Flunkies. But that was not the only reason to mulligan. "Since my opponent's deck was aggressive and I was on the draw, I wasn't confident that a turn 4 Spiked Baloth as my first play would cut it," Potovin said. "It was certainly close, and if I would have had a Mountain or a play before turn 4, I would have kept, but this hand was not good enough."

All too often, players try to find excuses for keeping a questionable hand. It takes a great player to find excuses to mulligan a reasonable hand.

Saturday, 7:20 p.m. - Quick Question: What Guild Are You?

by Tobi Henke

Thomas Holzinger (Platinum pro) - "Selesnya all the way!"

Valeriy Shunkov (writer for StarCityGames.com) - "I'm all Izzet."

Martin Jůza (Platinum pro) - "Just about everyone seems to be Izzet, but that's boring. It's Simic for me. Ramp and card draw-What's not to like about?"

Saturday, 8:15 p.m. - Cloning for Fun and Profit

by Frank Karsten

Three-time Grand Prix Top 8 competitor Menno Dolstra is currently sitting at a 5-2 record and has been very happy with one card in particular from his deck: Clone. Now this is really a prime example of a card that opens up all kinds of surprising possibilities, and Menno has already had two opportunities to use Clone in a cool way today.

In Round 3, Menno was facing down a Vampire Nighthawk and was struggling to claw back into the game. Menno had a Thundermaw Hellkite that could tap down the Nighthawk for a turn and swing for five, but his opponent was not too worried about that, expecting that his Nighthawk could trade for the Hellkite on the next turn. But he didn't expect the Clone. It turned into a second Thundermaw Hellkite, which allowed Menno to tap down the Vampire Nighthawk again and attack for lethal damage with two hasty Dragons.

Later on, in Round 6, Menno and his opponent were both growing a Chronomaton. His opponent, however, had an Intrepid Hero in play, discouraging Menno from pumping his Chronomaton beyond 3/3. His opponent did not see any reason to stop at 3/3 and kept ticking up his Chronomaton. This was understandable, as there are hardly any reasons to stop growing a Chronomaton in this format beyond Intrepid Hero. And Menno was Blue-Red, so he couldn't have an Intrepid Hero. Right? See, no one expects the Clone! Menno gleefully smashed his opponent's Chronomaton to smithereens and went on to take the match.

Menno Dolstra

Round 8 Feature Match - Martin Jůza vs. Rivkat Vahitov

by Tobi Henke

"5-2 now," Czech super pro Martin Jůza announced when he came back from his previous round. "Need to start winning." We were obviously interested whether he would be able to do so. The number of players in the tournament meant that day 2 was not going to be limited to players with scores of 7-2 or better (but to the top 128 instead), still another loss here might spell trouble.

Arctic Aven for Vahitov looked like a veritable roadblock, but not for long. Unsummon took care of the blocker and Tricks of the Trade provided an additional 2 points of damage for a total of 6. And that was that.

Jůza may have been expecting Essence Scatter or not—in any case the only creature left in his hand was Faerie Invaders and that certainly wouldn't be scattered quite as easily. Jůza attacked, pumping Watercourser, and passed the turn. Vahitov was falling further and further behind, simply put his Ring on Wind Drake, and passed right back to Jůza, who got in for yet more damage.

In a last-ditch effort, Vahitov summoned Sphinx of Uthuun. However, even the mighty 5/6 flier would at best be able to trade off against the Exalted-powered Watercourser, and when Jůza revealed Unsummon, not even that ...

Martin Jůza 2-0 Rivkat Vahitov

Saturday, 8:31 p.m. - Sealed Deckbuilding Exercise: The Reveal

by Frank Karsten

Day 1 of Grand Prix Moscow 2012 is now almost over, and it's time to reveal who our mystery pro was with the Blue-White deck: It's Martin Juza!

I caught up with him at the end of Round 8, when he just defeated his opponent in a Feature Match.

"So far my record is 6-2, so I need to win the last match to make Day 2," Juza said. "My deck is fine. I didn't sideboard much all day. I boarded in the second Healer of the Pride twice, since it's good against decks that can't kill it, but overall I am happy with the way I built my deck."

Juza said his deck was fine, although he was not thrilled with his mana base.

Good luck to Juza in his last round!

Saturday, 8:58 p.m. - Quick Question: What are the Two Most Important Cards in Your Sealed Deck?

Saturday, 9:27 p.m. - Following up on some of the World Magic Cup participants

by Frank Karsten

There are several World Magic Cup participants from countries near Russia in attendance today. I caught up with two of them: Mike Krasnitski, a member of the Ukranian National team, and Hannes Kerem, a member of the Estonian National team.

When asked how their experience was, both Hannes and Mike mentioned that they loved the team portion. "Playing in teams is so much better than playing individually at Pro Tours," Mike mentioned. "It's the team spirit: you're not just playing yourself, but for the team. And when the team wins, it feels incredible." Hannes agreed and added: "The team sealed was the best part. They should do that more often!"

Mike Krasnitski (left) and Hannes Kerem (right) are not from the same country, but they are united in their enjoyment of the World Magic cup.

When asked how their local community responded to the event, Mike mentioned the huge Ukrainian forum thread, which filled up with many, many pages of comments like "Go Ukraine!" Hannes also highlighted the excitement of the (relatively small) Estonian Magic community, whose players also put up a huge comment thread.

The two players would love to come back next time. "And then not just for two days. Two days of Magic is not enough," Mike laughed. Hannes was already looking ahead and said that he hoped to be to win pro points here this weekend, as that might allow him to lead the Estonian team next year.

The 2008 Worlds semifinalist is just entering the final round with an excellent 7-1 record, so good luck to Hannes this weekend!

Saturday, 9:42 p.m. - Czech Combos

by Frank Karsten

As the sun sets here in Moscow, we wanted to pass along a message from the Czech pros: Big creatures are good! Especially when they are unmanageably huge, keep on growing, and have some sort of evasion or trample.

Martin Juza had opened a sealed deck pool containing Slumbering Dragon and Ring of Valkas. Yup, that works. He opted to go for a blue-white deck instead, but I could still feel that he was eager to utterly dominate a game with this combo.

And Lukas Jaklovsky has been beating opponents with Rancor-powered Hamletback Goliaths. The big issue with Hamletback Goliath used to be that it is just a big guy that can still be chumpblocked by a 1/1 token. But Rancor can come to the rescue. Hurrah for trample!

Saturday, 9:54 p.m. - An Amazing Comback

by Frank Karsten

Mykola Chepkyi from Ukraine was entering Round 9 with a 6-2 record today and needed a win to make Day 2. In the final game, he had to mulligan down to 4 and didn't even have a land to play on turn 1. Not a good way to end the day, it seemed.

But luck was still on his side. He drew a Forest on his second turn, which allowed him to play Arbor Elf. He next drew a Mountain, allowing him to cast Elvish Archdruid. The Elves allowed him to ramp into Spiked Baloth, and he started attacking. His opponent, also a victim of mulligans, was missing land drops in the meantime. When Mykola was able to play Chandra's Fury for the win a couple turns later, he was beaming with excitement about his comeback.

The lesson: never despair. Anything can happen in a game of Magic, and coming back from a horrible mulligan to 4 is always possible!

Saturday, 10:17 p.m. - Day 1 Undefeated Decklists

by Tobi Henke

After nine grueling rounds of Sealed Deck play, three competitors emerged from the carnage with unblemished records of 9-0. Congratulations to Russians Vitaly Grechishkin, Anatoly Chuhwichev, and Vladimir Votintsev!